Starting Thursday, 9/25! A monthly series of Community Talks sponsored by the Center for Justice, Law, and Societies 🏛️ Faculty will offer insights on current events related to federal law and politics. 4-5 pm in the ILC Comm Hub: www.umass.edu/justice-law/...

As PIT Fellows, Doug Rice (legal studies, political science and DACSS) and Omer Yalcin (DACSS) will be integrating key practical and ethical considerations of the use of AI tools in the DACSS curriculum and introducing a new graduate course on responsible AI for social scientists.

Ray La Raja, Professor of Political Science & Director, UMass Faculty for Open Inquiry and Civil Dialogue, offers tips for bridging ideological divides "to cultivate a campus culture where disagreement is not feared but embraced as a path to deeper understanding":

The Law and Policy Justice Program is a residential program at the UMass Amherst Mt. Ida campus designed for undergraduate students (from any major!) interested in law, government, and/or social justice-related careers. Now accepting applications for Spring 2026! bit.ly/LPJLEAD

Viviana Wu, public policy, and Anthony Paik, sociology, have been awarded a U.S. National Science Foundation grant to build a first-of-its-kind database tracking trends in foundations' nonprofit grantmaking: www.umass.edu/news/article... - with @sppumass.bsky.social

We are celebrating Constitution Day this Wednesday! September 17th commemorates the signing of the U.S. Constitution in 1787. Stop by the UMass Amherst Student Union between 11 am - 2 pm to learn more about the Constitution, get your own free copy, share what it means to you, and play trivia!

Clearing forests to build large-scale solar farms can deliver climate benefits, but what about costs to nearby homeowners and ecosystems? A new study from a UMass research team including Christine L. Crago, resource economics, and Maryam Feyzollahi, PhD student in resource economics, investigates:

"U.S. policymakers can reform corporate governance so that workers have a voice in corporate decision-making and can improve their own and the American public’s experience of economic growth and democracy," writes @lenorepalladino.bsky.social (economics & @sppumass.bsky.social) in a new essay:

An analysis by Paul Collins (professor of legal studies and political science) and Tim Komatsu (doctoral student in political science) on U.S. Supreme Court justices' affiliations finds patterns that could shape American law for decades:

Congratulations to Venus Mary Green, a doctoral student in the Department of Sociology! Green has been awarded the Gaius Charles Bolin Fellowship, a residential faculty fellowship with the Anthropology and Sociology Department at Williams College. www.umass.edu/news/article...

The Funding Fridays series from @umassissr.bsky.social supports faculty members in the grant writing & proposal process. Here's the twist: this semester, the series is moving to Thursdays! Different day, same opportunity for practical strategies. www.umass.edu/social-scien...

EVENT: Lenore Palladino Lecture & Book Talk: Rapid Changes in Corporate Governance and Finance TUES., SEPT. 9 @ 4PM ET Gordon Hall, UMass Amherst Book: "Good Company: Economic Policy After Shareholder Primacy." peri.umass.edu/event/lenore... @lenorepalladino.bsky.social @sbs-umass.bsky.social

Happy first day of classes at UMass Amherst & the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences! #Fall2025 #newsemester

Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics, has been invited by President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa to join the Extraordinary Committee of Experts on Income and Wealth Inequality. The committee will deliver the first-ever report on global inequality to world leaders at the G20 Summit in November.

Considering a career in public policy? Join @sppumass.bsky.social on Wednesday, Sept. 3 at noon ET for a virtual information session on public policy and administration master's programs. Register now at umass.tfaforms.net/327?campaign... #umass #publicpolicy #graduateschool #publicpolicycareers

Virtual Conference on Ukraine starts tomorrow. Registration is free. Thanks to KTH & the organizers + speakers. Tomorrow I'll give the 1st keynote talk & on Saturday my @isenbergumass.bsky.social PhD student @ismaelpour.bsky.social will present. Our talks are ready. Info: www.kth.se/en/itm/kalen...

When it comes to selecting a major at SBS (the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences, @umassamherst.bsky.social), you have a lot of options! Plus, advisors in the SBS Pathways Center can offer guidance on courses, programs, and career development. www.umass.edu/social-scien...

Elizabeth Schmidt, professor of practice in the School of Public Policy(@sppumass.bsky.social), has a new book that translates convoluted #nonprofit legal frameworks into terms that nonprofit leaders without a law degree can understand. www.umass.edu/news/article...

Attention students: 🚨 Internship alert! ⚠️ @sppumass.bsky.social @legalstudiesumass.bsky.social

Ongoing struggles over core principles of democratic governance. Amel Ahmed's The Regime Question is out now. Learn more about this sweeping account: press.princeton.edu/books/paperb...

“A key component of this analysis is understanding how consumers substitute between vehicles in response to price changes (e.g. EV subsidy),” says Yongjoon Park, resource economics.

Data via UMass Amherst's Human Security Lab: "the nuclear taboo may actually be strengthening in an era of resurgent nuclear brinksmanship—if not among political elites, then among members of the military who would be in a position to actually launch such a weapon." thebulletin.org/2025/07/mili...

Diane Curtis, Director of Pre-Law Advising at UMass Amherst (@umassamherstprelaw.bsky.social), has been honored with the 2025 Dean Gerald Lee Wilson Award for Excellence in Pre-Law Advising from PLANC, the Pre-Law Advisors National Council.

Happy to see another @umassamherst.bsky.social alum appointed to the bench! cc: @sbs-umass.bsky.social www.mass.gov/news/governo...

This year’s iCons Senior Expo marked the graduation of the program's first student from SBS, Tara Lecamwasam, who earned a degree in Sustainable Community Development. Congratulations, Tara! iCons students' senior projects showcased real-world impact across STEM, business & policy disciplines.

"Inspiring and uplifting!' That how Communication Major Jean Hur described her summer internship as a photographer at the Cannes Film Festival in France. Hur's internship was supported by the Elaine E. Nord Internship Fund. Congratulations Jean!

NEW PAPER Oil, shipping, tariffs: We are back in a world of cost shocks. Our AI/LLM analysis of 138,962 corporate earnings calls shows how economy-wide cost shocks let large firms raise prices & increase profits—triggering sellers' inflation. 🧵 Open access: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

How it started A heterodox economist & her PhD student argue for buffer stocks in essentials for inflation preparedness in an age of overlapping emergencies. How it’s going New EU Stockpile Strategy suggests stockpiles in essentials like food for inflation prevention.

"Behavioral Welfare Economics and Risk Preferences: A Bayesian Approach," co-authored by Sherry Gao, UMass Amherst Dept. of Resource Economics, has been recognized by Experimental Economics with the Editors' Prize for the best paper published in 2023: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Sonya Atalay, anthropology and director and principal investigator of NSF CBIKS (Center for Braiding Indigenous Knowledges and Science), has been named to the new cohort of National Geographic Explorers, who are redefining what it means to lead in science, conservation, education & storytelling.

Welcome to Bluesky, @deptcommunication.bsky.social! The UMass Amherst Department of Communication pursues research, teaching, and outreach rooted in an understanding of communication as the primary process through which persons, societies, and cultures are formed and changed.

New research examines how political TV discussions reproduce or mitigate gender inequality. “Our study shows that even ‘professional talkers’ with strong incentives to maximize their airtime experience gendered conversational norms,” says @kshoub.bsky.social, public policy (@sppumass.bsky.social):

Now available! A special section of @ijoc-usc.bsky.social, True Costs of Misinformation, co-guest edited by @joncong.bsky.social, addresses key questions in disinfo studies. Check out the Intro: ijoc.org/index.php/ij...

We are offering a second section of Introduction to NVivo 14 for Mac and Windows workshop from Wednesday to Friday next week. This workshop will get you up and running with coding and analyzing your qualitative data in NVivo 14. Get more details and register now! www.umass.edu/social-scien...

"Understanding these trade-offs can help countries better prepare for future health emergencies and treat chronic conditions." Research coauthored by Lucy Xiaolu Wang, Resource Economics, UMass Amherst: theconversation.com/when-develop...

Do ordinary Americans want federal DEI policies in education, employment, and housing to end? Using national polling results from October '24 and April '25, the UMass Poll looked at how Americans feel about DEI policies and training: blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/20...

@ethanz.bsky.social namechecks AI Snake Oil by @randomwalker.bsky.social & @sayash.bsky.social in @prospectmagazine.co.uk in his fascinating article ‘Artificial intelligence isn’t magic. It’s just weird’ Read the piece: www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/techno...

Robert Pollin, economics and @periumass.bsky.social co-director, has been honored with The New School for Social Research’s Robert H. Mundheim Medal to the Living Spirit, which honors those who have made profound and transforming contributions to the university.

We love seeing all the ways MRP (Master of Regional Planning) students engage with local communities! UMass MRP students Marcelina Joao, Seth Price, and Danny Villalobos-Ortiz recently attended the Kelly School Career Fair Day in Holyoke, MA and introduced young students to city & regional planning.

Congratulations to Sarah Dienta (Sophomore, Department of Economics), Jenelle Donahue (Sophomore, Department of Sociology), Robert Long (Senior, Department of Communication), and Uttara Prakash (Sophomore, Department of Economics) for receiving the summer 2025 RISE into Research Fellowships!

A brief history of how veterans developed political clout & effectively advocated to protect themselves (and many others) from harmful policies. By Jamie Rowen, scholar of law, social movements, and veterans' benefits (polisci & legalstudiesumass.bsky.social‬):theconversation.com/veterans-pro...46

"You have to have some understanding about what those data are telling us about the world, and where the people are in those data points." - Lee Badgett, Professor Emeritx of Economics, UMass Amherst

Nathan Chan (Resource Economics, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences) was awarded a grant to adopt an Open Educational Resource (OER) and develop new assignments and student tools for RES-ECON 102 and 106, eliminating the need for costly commercial homework platforms 👏 📚

Congratulations to the latest Strategic Partnerships to Advance Research and Creative activity (SPARC) seed grant winners! The awarded research projects represent new directions for interdisciplinary collaboration. www.umass.edu/news/article... 🧵 The awarded projects with SBS faculty are:

The SBS Senior Completion Fund provides small but tremendously impactful grants enabling students to achieve their final UMass credits, cross the finish line, and graduate. Without this assistance, many students would face delays or even put their education on hold.

Want to help turn as little as $5 into $264,000 for social science research and teaching? 🪄 For #UMassGives 2025, 15 donations to the SBS Faculty Excellence Fund will unlock a $264,000 challenge gift from Peggy & Bob Cole '59! umass.scalefunder.com/gday/giving-... #umass #UMassGives2025

Are you ready? It's #UMassGives! The annual 2-day online giving event to support what you love on campus: academic departments, student groups, scholarships, centers, and more! Gifts of ANY amount to SBS & our programs can make a huge difference: umass.scalefunder.com/gday/giving-...

The NSF CBIKS Indigenous Sciences Speaker Series welcomes Dr. Kiana Frank on May 2, 2025 @ 4:00 pm EST: "Microbes to Meaʻai (food): Lessons from proven models of sustainability in ancient Hawaii" umass-amherst.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

"Pervasive racial and ethnic disparities in the U.S. petrochemical workforce": www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... Michael Ash, professor of economics and public policy, is co-author of a new study in the journal Ecological Economics.

Read more about the May 1st lecture by Dr. Peter Turchin on the forces shaping our social and political systems: www.umass.edu/news/article... & Register here: forms.office.com/Pages/Respon...